A Day in the Life

Today was pretty normal, and since it was normal, I'll run you through some of the mundane (aka boring) challenges of my day. I went to work, got off work at 6 and decided to go adventuring. First step, is I had to get changed from my work clothes to my gym shorts and a t-shirt. Now, I hear some of you scoffing. I was told "you can't wear gym shorts in Rome." I don't take can't very well, and I'll wear what I like, thank you very much. Here's why I wear shorts: 1. It's too hot. It's going to be upper 80s this entire week, and I can't go hiking through the Roman hills in long pants and long sleeves, or I will melt. 2. More importantly, is that when I'm in the Vatican, I'm relatively safe. The outside world, not so much. When I go out into Rome, while I'm not expecting trouble, but in case there is I like to have options. This boils down to fight or flight. If I get into a pinch, I want to be able to throw a punch or turn tail and sprint off, depending on the problem. Both of these are tough to do in dress clothes, so when adventuring I change. As it turns out, this almost came in handy today, but more on that to come.

So I didn't want to change in the Vatican, and stroll out through the Apostolic palace (former residence of the Popes, before Pope Francis moved his residence) in gym shorts and a t-shirt. I was headed to the Circus Maximus, which took me through Termini, the central station of the Rome metro and so I figured I would change in there. Turns out, I had to pay 80 euro and buy a second ticket (1.50 euro) in order to use the bathroom, but that's Rome for you. I changed and went to the Circus Maximus and the Aventine Hill, from where I intended to view the sunset. Here's some photos, since you're all tired of reading:

Circus Maximus

Baths of Caracalla

Yeah! 'Murica!

Three countries- Looking into the gardens which are in Malta territory at St. Peter's which is in Vatican territory while standing in Italian territory

Watch these two

So I nearly had a run in with some presumed pickpockets while checking out the sunset from the Aventine hill. The two boys in one of the photos were lurking around the photo taking area. First off, at the photo taking area, "I haven't seen this much love since Narcissus discovered himself" (name that movie) and it's all tourists. When I got there, I immediately spotted one kid, probably 16 years old, walking around the little terrace that photos were being taken from. He didn't have a camera out, and wasn't even looking at the sunset. No, he was pacing back and forth, walking all around the terrace. I waited for someone to claim him, a parent or a girlfriend or a brother, and a couple minutes later, I noticed another boy, about the same age, moving in a similar pattern. They were exchanging hand signals, but weren't speaking to one another, and were watching people as they came and went. Every once and a while, they would get near a couple who was having a PDA moment and then slowly move away, or move into the back of a group, and then move away. For a while, they hovered around me, like wolves around a lion, as I was taking photos and had my backpack on the ground next to me. Frankly, I was waiting for them to try to snatch something, either from me or someone else, because I've been itching for a fight and nothing would sooth my nerves like chasing down and tackling some punk who tried to steal from me, and beating the snot out of him. I began watching them, and I caught them looking at me a couple times, as if sizing me up to see if they could grab my bag and run before I could catch them. Once they realized I was watching them, they slinked off into the park, which is when I grabbed the above photo. Maybe I was being overly paranoid, but when two adolescents show up at a tourist attraction and start lurking, with no interest in the attraction itself, that raises some alarms for me. They slinked away, I left a little while later, caught a bus and then a train home and now I'm here. So that was a "normal" afternoon in Rome. A week from today, I'll be back in the USA in Boston. I'm really excited to be home, as I miss my family, and need to recharge a bit before returning to Rome for the fall semester. Be well, and we'll see what tomorrow brings!